Ulong takes centre stage

THE humble, little mountain village of Ulong will be the centre of the rally world on the first full day of competition at the 2011 Rally Australia.

After the grand opening super special stages at the Jetty on the night of Thursday, September 8, the off-road action heads to the top of the range with stages held between the Orara Way, north-west of Nana Glen to Megan in the south.

For Carol and Steve Cleary of the Ulong Post Office and Store, the prospect of having hoardes of hungry spectators in town is already a daunting thought.

“There’s always some inventive cooking when we get 20 horsemen and their families here for lunch on a Sunday, let alone having thousands of rally fans in town,” Mrs Cleary said.

“We’ve been in touch with every relative under the sun organising every pair of helping hands to be on deck on that Friday – it’s going to be the biggest thing held on the mountain ever,” she said.

The world rally round has also prompted beautification schemes in the feature Coffs Coast villages, planned for completion before the rally cars roar into town.

Returning once again to the Jetty on the Friday night, the rally focus shifts to the Nambucca Shire on Saturday, September 10.

Stages will be held west of Macksville around Talarm, north-west of Bowraville, near Argent’s Hill, between the Nambucca State Forest and Bollanolla Nature Reserve passing through Newee Creek and north of Valla in the Newry State Forest.

The final day of competition on Sunday, September 11, will see deciding stages in the Lower Bucca State Forest, the Wedding Bells and Conglomerate State forests south of Upper Corindi and in the Barcoongere State Forest north-west of Red Rock.

In all, Rally Australia – Coffs Coast will be the most compact WRC event held in Australia.